Bennett Lane Winery — Attraction in California

This was my second time here and will probably be the last time I bring anyone here. Let me just give a recap on what took place the first time and the major difference this time around.

The first time, I went with my co-workers on a Wednesday in November. We had Amy and Travis who were both personable and wonderful to talk to. They were both knowledgeable and they made us felt welcome. Both gave us sufficient time to taste the wine. I was the DD so two of my co-workers drank. We called ahead to ensure we can have a picnic as they do the wine tasting. All was well and my coworker liked the experience so much we ordered a bottle to be split between the two of them. When we left I loved it so much I made sure to remember this place to try again when my family visits.

The second time was a dismal experience or should I say it was a total nightmare. Mind you, we went on a Saturday this time but we kept that in mind and didn't plan to overstay our hour and a half limit. I can't even recall the name of the person we had since it was such a sad experience.

1. When we arrive the person (Domenico) helping lead us to the yard where the tasting was going to take place. We requested to sit under the Wisteria since we were the first one there and no one else was there. We were literally the first party. Well, that didn't happen because he told us it was reserved. Fine. If it's reserve we can't do much but lo and behold it wasn't at all. The next party of two came in and they requested the table and they received it. First strike. It was a matter of principles at this point.

2. Our party of 4 was seated near the doors. As we sat down I reminded him that only 3 out of the 4 will do the tasting. Something that I mentioned prior when we were filling out paper works. As I was setting up our Charcuterie board he came over and said "Don't focus on that, you should focus on the tasting first. You shouldn't eat anything before tasting." Mind you, I was not doing a tasting so I should've been free to set this up while my party did the tasting which I told him as he was now rushing us. Second strike. I get it. You drink certain wine with certain food. I'm no pro but that much I understand. The fact that he kept rushing us to taste the wine was a huge no for me. You want to enjoy your experience tasting the wine not chugging it down.

3. It was wine chugging/rushing, not wine tasting as my family later deemed it. After the first wine, he came back and kept trying to get us to try the next one already even before my family finished the first tasting. My husband who greatly enjoyed the wine was by now done with the experience. We were allotted an hour and a half but it felt like he wanted us out 30 minutes in.

4. My husband and mom enjoyed the Maximus so they ordered a bottle but yet again you would think they would let us enjoy the bottle with an hour left. Nope. We basically felt rush to finish it. Which in turn resulting in not enjoying the wine yet again.

Overall the experience was night and day compared to my first time there. I know that it is a Saturday and they are probably booked up but why would they assume we were going to overstay our time or that me setting up our food will deter them off schedule. I am not tasting at all. There are three people who are they weren't helping me set up so why would you rush us. Safe to say it was a total waste of $130+ for such an experience. I will not be going back and I will definitely not recommend this winery to anyone I know.

Choose a winery that actually wants you to be their guest rather than just another number. Next time I will try a different winery or stick close to home. We live in the Tri-valley and are surrounded by local wineries. I had such a wonderful first experience there I wanted to share it with my family but it was truly disappointing. I felt so awful...

Visited here last Sunday on a beautiful sunny day - we visited many wineries on our trip to Napa, and everyone agreed Bennett Lane was a stand out!

Ezra completely made our experience, with his genuine passion and kindness. It’s refreshing to see someone of my own generation have such an excitement and eager approach to American viticulture. Ezra took us on a tour of the facilities, explaining the unique climate of Calistoga & the Napa Valley, picking, pressing, stainless steel fermentation, and barrel process.

It’s no secret that much of the under 35 population typically dislike California Chardonnays, which have gotten a reputation of being full of toasty oak & heavily buttery. Bennett Lane’s ‘23 Reserve Chardonnay was a welcome change, and one of the only Chardonnays my whole group had ever really enjoyed, it was multi layered with interesting flavor profiles including pineapple and jasmine.

Everyone has different taste & preferences when it comes to wine, and I often find California Cabernets to be one dimensional and overly oaky. Bennett Lane shocked me with Cabernets that were deeply interesting - great acidity, gentle tannins, rich jammy cherry & plum notes, notes of cacao and licorice, & long lingering finishes. I loved their ‘18 Cabernet & ‘20 Maximus wines. My partner signed up for their membership & I wish we didn’t live all the way in Boston, so we could come back sooner.

Thanks again Ezra, you were so sweet & simply...

I visited this location with my parents and was absolute shocked at the attitude of our server. We spent over $250 on tastings, only to have our server complain about his working environment and drop the f-bomb every time he checked in with our table. He decided it would be appropriate to go on an unprompted rant about his views on climate change and was incredibly crude in his communications. It felt more like a dive bar than an elegant tasting room. I'm all about a down-to-earth discussion with locals in the right setting - this was not it. For what we paid, I expected a much more refined experience. My parents were incredibly offended and put-off. We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I do NOT recommend Bennet Lane. Going to a tasting room or a winery for a tasting is always a special experience for us and this interaction managed to completely negate that. Fortunately, we had several locations to visit later in our trip. Bennett Lane is a beautiful location providing a nice ambiance in the indoor and outdoor seating areas. However, I cannot recommend this location because the service was...